NOMEK (NOrdisk MEteorologisk Kompetensutveckling = Nordic Meteorological Competency Training) started in 1995 as an agreement between the Director Generals of the Nordic weather services. It is now a one-week course.
The annual training event aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of operational forecasters working in the northern part of Europe, who, on many occasions, face similar weather and technology-related issues.
EUMETSAT Training Manager Mark Higgins said: “The course looks at weather that has an impact on people. It is a great opportunity for forecasters to learn from each other, share their experiences, and learn about new data and techniques they can use. The 25 NOMEK courses show the value of the strong partnership between the Nordic countries and EUMETSAT.”
This year the course, organised by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and held in Coperhagen, was on the monitoring and forecasting of low clouds and fog in Scandinavia. Participants learnt more about the fog, and about how to forecast it using the satellite data, observations and operational NWP models.
They also worked with radar and Lidar data, and looked into ensemble forecasting and the concept of probabilities for decision-making. An important aspect of this course is the efficient communication of forecasts and uncertainties to the users.